Condom use can be traced back to Ancient Egypt and from that time the condom has protected man from disease and infection. The earliest evidence of condom use in Europe are scenes from cave paintings at Combarelles in France.
The modern story begins, not surprisingly, with Christopher Columbus. When he returned to Barcelona from his celebrated discovery of the West Indies in 1493, he didn't only have exciting stories, gold and jewellery from the new world on board! One pleasant little souvenir was first made public later, a secret illness, which according to the rumours was triggered by his crew. Syphilis, cynically known as "a present from the new world" or "revenge of the natives", rapidly spread over the whole of Europe, India and as far as China.
The Italian doctor and anatomist Gabriele Fallopio discovered one of the first protection methods against the fatal infection. In his book from 1564, "De morbe gallico" he recommended wearing a small cloth bag soaked in medicines and inorganic salts when having sexual intercourse.
Whether the story of the origin can really be traced back to Gabriele Fallopio, we don't know. Also as the story of the origin of the contraceptive is unclear, so is the creation of the word "condom". Was it the Latin term "condus" (container) or the English doctor Dr. Condom, who essentially gave the name to the contraceptive? If it was the doctor then it makes for a funnier story.
Dr. Condom served the British king Charles II (1660-1685). The king always craved pleasure and fathered numerous children. His doctor, Dr. Condom eventually tried to use ram's intestines as a contraceptive to prevent any further children. This type of condom became well known and increased in popularity. Literature of the 1700s suggests that the condom's contraceptive (rather than just prophylactic) properties had already been realised. By 1766 many shops were producing handbills and advertisements.
The revolutionary rubber vulcanisation process invented by Goodyear and Hancock made it possible to mass-produce more reliable and less expensive products, including condoms. Vulcanisation is the method or process of treating crude rubber with sulphur and subjecting it to intense heat. This process turns the rubber into a strong elastic material.
Liquid latex manufacturing superseded the melting and moulding of crepe rubber sheets, and it is still the basis for manufacture today.

New technology has considerably improved the condom and enabled the production of far more sophisticated versions than our ancestors were used to. The latest development is Durex Avanti made from a unique polyurethane material, DURON, which is twice as strong as latex enabling a thinner, more sensitive film. Hundred of different types of condoms are on the market around the world today - in different colours, forms, flavours, studded, ribbed etc. used for contraception, for STI protection or simply just for fun.